Master Classes 2016

Here are the details – stay tuned for live streaming of these classes!

THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15

360˚ WORKSHOP – HOW WE DID IT! 4 – 5:30pm

Join Flash Frame participants who made Thunder Bay’s first 360˚ film experience. This is a hands-on workshop that lets you have a taste of 360 production and post-production. See our camera rig, stitching software and oculus headset in action.

Flash Frame Film and Video Network held a 360˚ VR workshop over 2 weekends in August. Our mentors provided the hands-on training needed to create immersive and interactive video content for virtual reality headsets and for theatrical projection. The workshop was funded by an Ontario Arts council Northern Arts Grant and received in kind support from Resources and Sustainable development in the Arctic (ReSDA). We filmed part of the August workshop and we are sharing the content across the North to interested filmmakers.

We brought two experienced VR (Virtual Reality) producers to our community to show us how to make use of the technical and equipment resources of the Bay Street Film Festival which purchased production equipment with a Trillium grant. The same grant that enabled us to hire our Technical Coordinator Riaz Mehmood. We have a 6 camera go-pro rig, stitching software, PC computer and an Oculus rift. We intend to harness this new technology to build a larger audience for our stories. We completed a short production as a practicum that will be screened at our 360 installation throughout the festival in the Finlandia Embassy. Passholders can sign up for a VR experience for Free. There will be a $5.00 charge for those who don’t have a pass.

Scott Herman is currently the Chief Technology Officer at DEEP Inc. (Toronto) His background is in software development and is now focused on all things 360 video and Virtual Reality. Scott grew up in Thunder Bay and is eager to return to share his skills. Scott will making a special presentation at the Bay Street Shag on Friday.

Scott and the team at DEEP Inc. have been busy working on a multiple 360 video content projects including the documentary titled Polar Sea 360. He developed software that allows the seamless transition from 360 video to traditional forms of media. In addition he has developed Virtual Reality video players for the Oculus, GearVR, and mobile phones. Most recently, he headed a collaboration with Mozilla to showcase DEEP’s Polar Sea 360 as part of the launch of the web-based MozVR browser.

Scott has developed software for both desktop and mobile platforms. He has experience with languages such as C/C++, C#, Java, AS3, JavaScript, UnityScript, VB, OpenGL, XML, HTML, etc. Typically in a role requiring “multiple hats”, he has been involved with project management, user experience & interface design, graphic asset creation, backend database design, network programming, and game development.

In 2014 he received a Masters of Science from Ryerson University. Similar to establishing presence in VR, his Master’s thesis focused on creating physically accurate 3D models of real-world disaster environments to allow rescue workers to pre-plan rescue missions.

Eugene Mishibinijima is originally from Manitoulin Island and spent many years in Thunder Bay. He is an original Flash Frame member and has stayed in touch since he moved first to Winnipeg to work as a 3d modeler at Frantic Films. He worked on many films honing his skills as a 3D modeler and animator. He worked for several years at Ubisoft Montreal on their most successful video games. He can build high quality “real world” content with accurate scale and proportions, also texturing these objects. He has been working as an independent contractor for The Design Foundation, making animations for the Phillip J Currie museum. Currently he is working out of Montreal for Cinco.ca doing filming 360 interactive films using the gopro 3d hero rig.

Riaz Mehmood is a multidisciplinary artist originally from Pakistan. After obtaining a degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Engineering and Technology in Peshawar, Riaz went on to complete a diploma in the Integrated Media program at Ontario College of Art and Design in 2005 and an MFA from the University of Windsor (2012). His artistic oeuvre encompasses a range of practices including performance, video, new media and photography. These works have explored a number of issues related to identity, history and media. Riaz has also been involved with a number of artist-run centres and served on the boards of SAVAC and articule. His works have been shown internationally, including the U.S., Canada, Egypt, Pakistan and Indonesia.

He is currently full-time technical coordinator for the Bay Street Film Festival. He teaches part time for the Multimedia program at Confederation College. Riaz coordinates the technical side of the workshop project.

FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 16

PRODUCING 101 2 – 4pm

Ready to enter the world of producing non-fiction? Join the Documentary Organization of Canada and the DOC Institute for three interactive sessions designed for early-career producers and led by industry experts with real-world insight. Kicking off in Thunder Bay at the Bay Street Film Festival, the first in-person session will provide an overview of some of the essential components to producing a doc successfully. Attendees will then get access to two subsequent webinars that focus on two of the most pressing topics for producers: financing your film and engaging your audience. Don’t miss this opportunity to gain valuable insight!

“Thanks to the support of the Ontario Arts Council, the Documentary Organization of Canada (DOC) and DOC Institute are excited to be able to offer high level professional development opportunities and build meaningful collaborations with the emerging documentary community here in Northern Ontario, ” commented DOC Executive Director Pepita Ferrari.

Chanda Chevannes is a Canadian documentary filmmaker, writer, and educator. She aims to make documentaries that deal with complex social issues in an artistic way. Chanda’s most recent film was Living Downstream, an award-winning documentary that was broadcast on six continents and seen by four million people. Chanda trained as an arts educator with the Royal Conservatory and was recently an Innovator in Communities with the Toronto Public Library, leading filmmaking workshops in the city’s underserved communities. She is a graduate of Sheridan College’s Media Arts Program; a former board member of the Documentary Organization of Canada; and a founding member of the Toronto Chapter of Film Fatales, a collective of women filmmakers. Currently, Chanda is an instructor at Centennial College’s Story Arts Centre.

Following the live workshop on Documentary Producing 101 at the Bay Street Film Festival, the Documentary Organization of Canada and the DOC Institute’s will offer two free webinars, Documentary Funding 101 and Film Festival Strategy 101. These one-hour online sessions will provide valuable information to help emerging filmmakers get their documentary film projects funded and seen! Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions using the webinar interface.

Webinar 1: Documentary Funding 101

The first webinar will look at the challenges facing how to finance your doc. Panelists will discuss the various options and fundraising models within crowdfunding, arts council funding, broadcast licenses, and working with foundations and NGOs. Budgeting, how to find and successfully apply for grants, tips for crowdfunding, and other funding strategies will be discussed in this valuable session.

Webinar 2: Film Festival Strategy 101

In the second webinar, Julian Carrington, Manager of the Documentary Organization of Canada’s Festival Concierge service, will provide a detailed introduction to the key concepts of film festival strategy, empowering filmmakers to maximize their projects chances of a successful festival run. Participants will learn how to approach the festival circuit tactically, set achievable goals, identify the festivals best suited to their audience engagement aims, and how to prepare impactful submissions packages.

About DOC

The Documentary Organization of Canada | l’Association des documentaristes du Canada (DOC) is the voice of Canada’s independent documentary creators. A member-based, bilingual national arts service organization, DOC champions the production and distribution of documentaries across all platforms; advocates on behalf of creators and producers; and connects and strengthens the Canadian documentary community. For more information go to: www.docorg.ca.

About DOC Institute

The DOC Institute develops and leads programs to help filmmakers succeed at every stage of their careers. Offering creative inspiration and insider advice, we’re a hub for the non-fiction community. The DOC Institute is a one-stop shop for professionals to learn business skills, hone their craft and make industry connections. For more information go to: www.docinstitute.com.

Acknowledgement:

The Documentary Organization of Canada would like to acknowledge funding support from the Ontario Arts Council, an agency of the Government of Ontario.

DOCUMENTARY AND ADVENTURE 4 – 5:30pm

Frederick Kroetsch (Beneath the Surface) co-directed a series about disability starring Daniel Ennet. They filmed adventures like disabled sailing, skiing, and even scuba diving with sharks.

Frederick Kroetsch is the co-founder of Open Sky Pictures, Frederick has been a reporter, camera operator, host and producer of Alberta TV for the past 15 years. He has produced thousands of broadcast stories covering everything from Cattle Police to Astronauts. As a documentary filmmaker, he has filmed in many countries around the world including Kenya, Honduras and Peru. With his creative partner Kurt, they have created many TV series and shorts including: The Match, KittenTV, Invincible and Queer Places. Though focused primarily on producing, Frederick is also an accomplished director of photography. He is the DoP on all Open Sky Projects.

Frederick won Best Drama Under 60 Minutes at the 2008 AMPIA Awards and graduated with a major in Film Production from Concordia University in Montreal. In 2015 he received the Edmonton Top 40 Under 40 Award.

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 17

INDIE FICTION PRODUCTION 10:30 am – 11:30 am

Oscar Rodriguez Gorriz (Doris) is an award winning Mexican filmmaker who will share his creative strategies for independent fiction production. Oscar grew up in Veracruz, Mexico. He has always loved filmmaking and storytelling, but didn’t have a chance to study filmmaking in Veracruz. So he learned from books and by watching movies over and over. In 2010, when the insecurity and violence of his country began to grow, he approached a filmmaking association and pitched them the idea of making a feature film. They green lit the film but did not have enough funds to put behind the film. This led Oscar to organize a screenplay contest where the winners would have their stories produced. This allowed Oscar to chose 10 short stories that would eventually make up his feature film. After one year of raising funds and six months of shooting, Oscar and the contest winners finished their feature film AMOR DEL REGIO, a series of shorts directed by 10 directors including Oscar. It was screened in several film festivals in Mexico and it won “Best Feature Film from Nuevo Leon” in the Monterrey International Film Festival. Oscars next project was a short film called YOUR DAY (2013), it was screened in competition in the Toluca International Film Festival and it won 1st Place in the short film competition Render 30.

After this, Oscar made ETERNAL VENDETTA (2014). ETERNAL VENDETTA won the prizes of “Best Foreign Film”, “Best Actress” and “Best Actress – Audience Award” at the Los Angeles International Underground Film Festival. It was the Official Selection of LA Short Fest, Monterrey International Film Festival, Oaxaca Film Festival, CINEXICO, CineEspacio24 Fest, Oregon Underground Film Festival, SoCal CIFF , FICAIJ, Venezuela, Cine Sinu FERATUM, MAIPU Cortos Argentina, FENACIES, Viewster Online Film Festival, Golden Orchid International Festival Pennsylvania, and it was screened in the Short Film Corner at the Festival de Cannes in 2014. Oscar studied at UCLA Extension in the Directing Program. With DORIS, Oscar wants to give it the widest release possible. His next project will continue his partnership with Endless Media on the feature film WHISKEY 25.

NORTHERN CHARACTERS 11:30 am – 12:30 pm

Mika Ronkainen (Finnish Blood Swedish Heart) talks about his 3 feature documentaries set in Oulu, Finland. Mika is a filmmaker and theatre director based in Oulu, Northern Finland. His prize-winning and acclaimed documentaries have screened at several international film festivals including Sundance, IDFA, Karlovy Vary, Toronto Hot Docs, and Tribeca Film Festival, and art museums like MoMA PS1 in New York, Taidehalli in Helsinki, and Oulu Museum of Art. His latest film, Finnish Blood Swedish Heart (Laulu koti-ikävästä, Ingen riktig finne), was awarded with several awards – including two Finnish Oscars (Jussi Awards) for Best Documentary and Best Music, and Dragon Award for Best Nordic Documentary at Göteborg International Film Festival 2013. Recently Ronkainen has ventured into theatre, adapting and directing his award-winning documentary film Finnish Blood Swedish Heart for his hometown city theatre in Oulu. Ronkainen is currently working his first feature fiction film, Mother’s Day, planned for release in 2018, and produced by MRP Matila Röhr Productions.Selected for Variety’s Ten European Directors to Watch in 2013. He is also the Co-founder of Air Guitar World Championships. This year 2 Canadians place in the top 15! Graduated from Oulu Institute of Arts and Design in 1997.Ronkainen has also worked as a producer, editor, and editing consultant.

Dustin Grella is an animator and documentary filmmaker whose work attempts to glean glimpses of colorful insight into the seemingly mundane. His work has screened at the Cannes Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, and won the Walt Disney Award at the Ottawa International Animation Festival. His film “Prayers for Peace” screened at almost two hundred festivals worldwide and won over forty awards. He has written and mailed himself a letter every day for the past thirteen years and has over 4840 sealed letters neatly filed and categorized. He is currently in production of the Animation Hotline, a series of micro-animations where he uses crowd-sourced voicemail messages for content.

Cathleen Ashworth (Iroquois Creation Story) is a Professor in the School of Film and Animation at Rochester Institute of Technology. Many of the animation artists who worked on this project were students or recent graduates of the school. Cat’s previous films have been documentary or experimental video installations. While pursuing her Master’s degree in Ethnographic Film, Cat studied with John Mohawk, the Seneca Scholar who translated the original 1880 story The Myth of the Earth Grasper. This film is based on John’s 2006 translation.